The first challenge for our family was getting ourselves to the meeting point on time. The Dance Studios choose their own meeting location and ours was inside Disneyland by the castle. I had forgotten how long it takes to process security, get lost on the way to the security check point, then check in with tickets and figure out directions. Thankfully, the fire engine driver saw us hustling and welcomed us aboard and drove us up main street so that we could be on time. We weren't the last, thank goodness.
Once you have handed your lovely children to your studio directors, they disappear. Really. Unfortunately, we were sidetracked by looking for a late arrival but that was sorted out and then...well we adults could play. We were able to go on rides and explore without children. It was amazing.
Over the first two days, you are given your time slots and basically show up when told to do so. In the meantime, you have ample opportunity to wear yourselves out at Disneyland and California Adventure. Our kids are roller coaster junkies so we spent a lot of time doing Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. Once they discovered California Screamin' they were hooked. The nice thing is that the parks are close and it is very easy to transfer between the parks. The other thing that we enjoyed was having the opportunity to play the role playing games at Frontierland and participate in the art classes at Animation Studios.
On the third day, the kids had the parade rehearsal and photoshoots so that swallowed a lot of time. The parents staked out spots on the parade route and nibbled on packed lunches. Similarly, we did the same thing at California Adventure for the next parade. They also had opportunities to see Aladdin and World of Color performances which was appreciated.
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| Dance the Magic parade |
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| Playing games at Frontier Land |
What do you need to know about visiting Disneyland/ California Adventure and Dance the Magic?
- Go to the parks early to avoid huge crowds.
- Pack a lunch and lots of water in a backpack.
- Wear comfortable shoes...in July that tarmac was hot!
- Figure out your fast passes in advance. They use the old system of scanning for fast passes so it takes more thought than Disneyworld. You can also hold fast passes at both parks if park hopping.
- With Dance the Magic, get the five day pass minimum. You will use it.
- Plan to be there all day.
- Changing for the parades was challenging if you are not staying on site. We weren't and there were some interesting hijinx in bathrooms as a result.
- Pack sunscreen or zinc for your face.
- Arrive 15 minutes ahead of schedule to avoid issues with crowds and other parades.
- Make reservations at the restaurants that are important for you to eat at. If you don't, you won't eat there.
- Have reliable cameras.
- The parades go by quickly. Experiment with vantage points ahead of time. I didn't on the first parade and still think I did it wrong.
- Enjoy Disney!
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